Improvement in turbine water-wheels



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. M. CASE. TURBINE WATER-WHEELS.

No. 195.793. Patented 0012.2,1877.

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JOHN M. CASE, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

IMPROV'EM ENT "r'N Tu RBINE WATER-WH EELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 195,793, dated October2, 1877; application filed March 27, 1877.

I To all whom it may-concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN M. CASE, of Golumbus, in the county-of Franklinand State of Ohio, have invented-a new'and useful Improvement in TurbineWater-Wheels, of which the following is a specification:

My invention has'i'o'r its object to construct a water-wheel which shallgive a high percentage "of the power of the water, both at full and partgate, and which shall be simpleand cheap in constr-u'ction, durable, andconvenient of access in case of repairs, or the removing offloodwood'o'rother obstructions which-may get into the wheel.

It also has for its object to so construct the gates and'ohutes that thewater may be so applied as'to use it with the greatest'economy whenworking the wheel at part gate, and to so arrange the gates that shouldone or more become obstructed they will not prevent the balancefrom-closing, as is the case with other turbines, and to-accomplishthese results in a simple and practical manner. I

It consists, first, in the construction of a casing or cover to thewheel, having the walls to the chutes and apart of the fioor of the samecast=solidly with theinner andouter parts of the case or cover, the-topof the chute being left open to enable the gates to behinged with outbolts. By this construction I am enabled to=cast the casing withoutcores, and to fit it up with much less'expense than could be donewith-the whole of the'chute cast solid, having only to bolt on the capto complete the chute, and also hinge the gate.

It -consists, second, in the construction of a circular or disk havinginclined cams formed upon opposite sides, so arranged that theyengagewith pins or projections-formed upon the gates, and by rotating whichthe gates are opened, two at a time, upon opposite sides, thus enablingthat part of the wheel which is working to be filled, and the pressuredue to the head 'kept up, thus enabling the water to be used witheconomy at=part gate.

It consists, third, in the construction of press-cams in connection withthediskor circula'r rim, having a 1 suitable spring for forcing thegates down, =so arranged that should 'one or more of the gates beobstructed with floodcam to rise and pass the gate thus obstructed, andwill close all the balance. In the case of most other turbines, iffloodwood or grass obstructs one gate, the whole are held open, eitherpreventing the stopping of the wheel or causing it to leak badly.

It consists, fourth, in the construction of a gate having pins cast orotherwise formed upon the lower end, constructed to fit into suitablerecesses formed in the casing or cover, the same being held in positionby a cap secured upon the top of the walls of the chute, thus enablingthe gates to be hinged without bolts or other fitting, and also enablingthe gates to be easily removed in case it becomes necessary to removeobstructions from the wheel.

It consists, fifth, in the construction of the wheel and buckets in sucha manner as to be easily molded, and cheap in construction, having thebuckets so formed as to give the greatest possible working surface, andenable the water to be discharged in such a manner that it will notobstruct the working power of the wheel. I accomplish this by formingthe buckets of sheet metal, and bending into suitable form, so that allparts of the bucket form an incline plane or working surface, theoutside of the bucket being made in a semicircle, which causes the mainbody of the water to be discharged upon the extreme periphery of thewheel, and directly in the opposite line from the wheels rotation, thusgiving the reacting power of the water the greatest possible efiect uponthe wheel. The buckets thus formed are molded with the inside core andouter rim of the wheel, in the manner hereinafter more fully described.

It consists, sixth, in the combination of the wheel and easing,constructed as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan or top View of thewheel, partly in section. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same. Fig. 3 isa vertical section on the line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detached plan ortop view of the annular cam mechanism employed for opening and closingthe gates. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of one of the gates with itsattaching arm or plate. Fig. 6 is a diagram of a blank wood orotherwi'se the spring will allow the adapted for the formation of asheet-metal bucket. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the sheet-metalportion of the bucket in readiness for application, which is done bycasting the hub and rim of the wheel on an assembled set of the saidbuckets, as hereinafter described.

A may represent a spider or bridge-tree of any suitable form; B, a boxor bearing, and a a step-pivot supporting the lower end of the shaft 0.The wheel consists of a hub, I), and an outer rim, E, which may be castat one operation upon the assembled set of sheet-metal buckets F. Theform of the said buckets is clearly represented in Figs. 2, 3, and 7,Fig. 6 representing the blank cut in flat form, of proper outline forbending into the bucket represented in Fig. 7, and with holes f near itsprominent corner, which will be filled, in the act of casting, with themetal which forms the outer rim E.

It will be observed that the bucket-blank shown in Fig. 6, if opened inone direction, will form a bucket for a right-hand wheel, as illustratedin Fig. 7, or, if bent in the opposite direction, will form a bucket fora left-hand wheel, such as is represented in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of thedrawings. A bucket of this construction possesses great practical valuein the economy with which it may be made, and, further, in itsadaptation to cause a discharge of the water chiefly at the periphery ofthe wheel, where its effect can be most fully utilized. The principalportions of the chute frame or casing, beneath which the wheel works,may be cast in one piece. This casing consists of an inner rim, G, anouter rim, H, and a set of vertical chute-walls, I I, one pair for eachgate, and inclined radial arms or plates J, located between thesuccessive pairs of chutewalls, serving as the floors of the chutes, andalso connecting the inner and outer rims G H of the casing. The outerchute-walls I occupy vertical planes tangential, or nearly so, to theperiphery of the wheel, by which means the water is applied incontracting veins, striking the buckets in line with their rotation, andwithout being impeded by deflection from its natural line of motion, asis the case in scrollformed chutes. From the upper edges of thechute-walls I 1 project vertical stud'bolts K K, for the reception ofnuts L L, which confine caps M, forming the tops of the chutes. N N arethe gates", on either the upper or lower edges of which are formedhorizontal arms or plates 0, each having at its extremity a pair ofgudgeons, 0, which constitute the pivots on which the gates rise andfall. If the arms or plates 0 are applied to the upper edges of thegates, the said arms or plates will work above the caps M of the chutes.

In the present illustration I have shown them applied to the lower edgeof the gates and introduced beneath the caps within the chutes. On theinner ends of the gates are formed lugs or studs 19, by means of whichthe gates are raised by the action of cams, as hereinafter described.Each gate N, with its arm or plate 0, gudgeons 0, and lug or stud 12,

forms a single casting, the form of which is clearly illustrated in Fig.5. I prefer to employ an even number of gates, so that they may operatein pairs, the two of each pair be ing precisely opposite to each other.They are raised or lowered by means of a cam-ring, Q, constructed withinclined ways or flanges q, and with a pair of independently-hingedcap-plates, It It, the free ends of which, when in their normalposition, are parallel with the upper surfaces of the inclined flangesq, so as to constitute, in connection therewith, inclined grooves,through which the lugs 19 rise or descend when the gates are opened orclosed.

The cap-plates It It are hinged at their meeting ends by means of studs1', formed upon them, and held down in suitable sockets by means of anut or cap, 8, of any suitable construction, which may work on avertical studbolt, S. The stud-bolt S also receives a nut, s, thefunction of which is to confine springs T, which may have the simpleconstruction of semi-elliptic carriagespring plates, and serve to holdthe cap-plates R down to their normal position, except in the event ofeither of them receiving a strong upward pressure by reason of thelodgment of a piece of flood-wood or other solid matter beneath thegate, so as to prevent the closing thereof.

The cam-rin g Q is rotated by a vertical pinion-shaft, U, the pinion uof which engages with a rack, 'v, on the inside of the cam-ring. Thepinion U is rotated by a hand-wheel, in customary manner.

Operation: For working with a full head or volume of water, all thegates are opened by turning the cam ring Q to its fullest extent fromleft to right. To adapt the wheel to work with best effect with areduced volume of water, two or more of the gates are closed by areverse movement of the cam-ring, the first efl'ect, to close one pairof gates precisely on opposite sides of the wheel, so that the remaininggates will be wide open, and, being located precisely opposite to eachother, will balance the efl'ect on the wheel. If the volume of waterpassing through the wheel is still further reduced, another pair ofbuckets will be closed in like manner, and so on until the limit ofcapacity is reached; but it will be understood that in all cases suchgates as are opened are wide open, so that the successive buckets comingunder the effect of the open chutes receive the full force of the waterin the most advantageous and efiective manner, and an open gate on oneside of the wheel is always balanced by an open gate on the oppositeside.

The vertical chutes formed between the horizontally-converging verticalwalls I I, the floors J, and the caps operate to apply the water to thebest advantage in tangential lines with a very slight downwardinclination, so that the first impact of the water is received directlyin line with the motion, and applies the full force of its weight indescending, and leaves the wheel at the periphery in lines as nearly aspossible opposite to the motion of the buckets.

There are various ways of constructing and hinging the gates. They maybe hinged upon the outside, at any suitable point on the cap M, andconstructed with double or single hinging-arms, any form of which may beoperated by the cams q and the combination of parts as herein set forth;but the manner of hinging herein more fullydescribed is believed to bethe best.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The casing or cover constructed, substantially as herein described,with inner part Gr,

' an outer part, H, radial arms or chute-floors J, and verticalchute-walls I I, cast together, and adapted for the reception ofchute-caps M and gates N O, substantially as set forth.

2. A chute constructed with an outer wall tangential to the wheel, ornearly so, and an inner wall converging therewith, placed upon the topof the casing, and in combination with a hinged gate, operatingsubstantially as herein described.

3. The annular cam Q, formed with paired inclines q q, for operatinggates on opposite sides of the wheel simultaneously, as set forth.

4. The combination of the pressure-cams R and springs T with the gates Nand lugs 19, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The gates N, constructed with arms 0 and pivot-gudgeons o 0,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The buckets constructed, as described, from sheet-metal plates, cutsubstantially as shown in Fig. 6, bent in the form represented in Fig. 7

7. The combination of the wheels D E F, and easing G H I I J M, andgates N 0,0011- structed substantially as herein described, for thepurposes set forth.

JOHN M. CASE.

Witnesses:

OCTAVIUS KNIGHT, LE BLOND BURDETT.

